


False Clues

by Hawkscape



Category: Batman (1966), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Flowers, Fluff, M/M, Riddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 18:16:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13793397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkscape/pseuds/Hawkscape
Summary: False Face is trying to plan a crime wave. Riddler is trying to deliver a message in his own special way.Hot Dating Tip: theme your crushes gifts off their supervillain persona!Small story after I saw a near one-off character in the Batman '66 series that I felt would pair really well with Riddler.





	False Clues

False Face was writing out plans for his next heist when his current...partner made himself known by barreling through the false door on the wall smoothly. “Hello my ungenuine genius, how are tricks?”

FF had to admit that he could be a bit...exuberant at times, it came with the show business territory, but even he had nothing on the Riddler. If he had half the energy of the Prince of Puzzles, he would have swindled Gotham out of all of its riches years ago. That ment he simply had to plan his crimes more meticulously and that was not being helped by this intruder. Two man acts were difficult and Riddler wasn't even a trained actor. FF could be called to do improve if necessary but for this job he couldn't risk it. Everything had to be planned to the letter.

“Tricks are going fine, but I need you to be gathering information if this job is to play out right, not bothering me while I’m trying to work.” He doesn't look up from his plans, but he can tell Riddler is pouting.

“Now don't be like that, all your worrying will wrinkle up that pretty face of yours.” He gave a small high pitched laugh. “Besides, I have lackys to do that sort of thing. I’ve gathered that you’re mostly a one man show, but henchman can really do wonders with the grunt work.” False Face wasn't convinced, but he had the feeling arguing with the man would get him nowhere so he just ignored him. “Besides, while the hench are away, the villans can play.” FF noticed his light getting abruptly cut off and looked up to see the green man leaning over him, blocking it.

“Riddler, what are you-“ The Riddler reached into his jacket and FF logicly braced for a gun he was instead met with...a rose?

He looked at the unexpected flower for a while before reaching out to take it, glancing at Riddler warily. The green villains grin only seemed to grow wider. FF took the flower and twirled it between his gloved fingers. It seemed like simply a normal rose. He smelled it. Slightly faded, but still normal. He looked back up at the Riddler again. There had to be more to this. He wasn't in the mood for these games. He grabbed a petal to begin tearing it apart to make his distaste clear but to his surprise the petal doesn't come off as anticipated, but begins to drag the other petals with it, forming a neat ribbon of them. He stopped in shock and then begin to notice that when held up to the light each petal had several words on it. He squinted at them as he unraveled the entire message. 

“Had by few, but treasured by all. I'm on the inside and outside and I make men fall. What am I?” He looked at the Riddler who looked like the cat who caught the canary. FF was shocked at the gift. He tugged one of his gloves off and felt the petals. It felt soft and fuzzy like it should and the stem had just enough fibrous give. It was a perfect imitation except for the message giving petals and the linked petals.

He pointed the now empty stem at the smug supervillain. “How? How did you make such a convincing fake?”

Riddler giggled. “If you guess the answer to the riddle, I'll tell you.”

False Face puzzled at the riddle again. He really didn't have the head for riddles as his word trickery usually only consisted of saying the opposite of what he meant. He tried to apply the same logic. Everyone has it but no one wants it? I'm not on the inside or outside? I make woman...fly? No, it still made no sense. He crushed one of the petals angrily between his fingers.

Riddler chimed in. “Give up?”

FF glared at his smiling face. “Fine, what is it?”

He leaned forward and tapped on the false villains plastic mask. “Beauty.”

There was a moment of silence before False Face decided he was sick of these games and snapped at his ‘partner’. “Is that some kind of joke?”

Riddler giggled again and stood up. “Of course not, beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all.”

FF still didn't understand and looked at the partially crushed rose with confusion and anger. Riddler rolled his eyes and entered the man's personal space, poking his masked forehead with each syllable. “I’m saying I find your personality attractive Facey, don't ruin it by being dense.” With that he moved past the man and left him stunned at his desk. “Oh, by the way.” He reached into his jacket and threw a folder on the desk. “All the pictures and details of your impersonation targets.”

False Face paused a moment before twirling the stem between his fingers again, calmer this time. “I thought that was grunt work.”

Riddler smirked. “True, but I still want the credit.” He giggled again before walking off to who knows where.

The impersonator regarded the petals again before carefully re-wrapping them around the stem. Clever, he'd taken a real rose and carefully unattaching and stringing up the petals before added some kind of dying process to the them and attaching them.

After regarding it one last time he smiled under his mask and put the flower in his breast pocket. If Batman had been as astute as he claimed he might have noticed that every disguise False Face war in the next crime wave had a rose somewhere on his person. Even if he had noticed it, well, False Face was good at improv.


End file.
